A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network is a type of IP network that delivers voice communications. These communications produce call detail records (CDRs), which are computer records containing the details of the calls that are handled by the VoIP network. Although traditionally used for billing purposes, CDRs may also be used to monitor the performance of the VoIP network. In particular, if a network element performance management system detects a call failure in a CDR (such as a dropped call), the network element performance management system generates an alert that may be forwarded, for example, to a network administrator or a security system.
Any given call failure will typically result in a plurality of such alerts. For instance, multiple network elements involved in a failed call may each produce CDRs that generate an alert for the same failed call, or a single network element may produce multiple CDRs that generate multiple types of alerts for the same failed call. Such a volume of redundant alerts wastes the resources of administrators and also increases the likelihood of inaccurate network performance results being generated. Moreover, the volume of redundant alerts often makes it difficult for administrators to isolate faults and detect delays in the VoIP network.